Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state, testified on Wednesday before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The question that came to the fore: Is the United States’ policy toward Russia what the president says, or what the government does?

Senator Robert Menendez sparred with Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state, who took exception to his question about whether President Trump talked to him about his meeting with President Vladimir Putin of Russia.Published OnJuly 25, 2018CreditCreditErin Schaff for The New York Times

“You somehow disconnect the administration’s activities from the president’s actions,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday. CreditErin Schaff for The New York Times